Friday, November 8, 2013

Just One Brownie

Last Wednesday on my way home from school I was stopped at a red light. On the sidewalk sat a man who looked like the quintessential old Maine fisherman. He held a sign that said "Homeless and disabled. Anything helps." I had no money and very little of anything else in my car but I gave him a brownie that had been in my backpack for a few days. He tore into it and said, "thank you ma'am! I will always eat a brownie!" I pulled away with tears in my eyes.

I realized afterward how ironic it is that I give food to the homeless at all. I mean, as I posted a few weeks ago I receive food stamps myself to supplement my grocery budget. But I was raised in a family that gave an offering to the church every week regardless of how little funds we had. I suppose that concept has stuck with me.

No matter how much I am struggling to make ends meet, there is always someone else struggling more.

Giving a sandwich or a brownie to a homeless person has become my offering. Traditionally people around the world have given plates of food as offerings to the gods or the powers-that-be. I believe Creator can be found in the most vulnerable among us, so that is where I give my offering.

I can't really say I have a reason for posting this, besides attempting to create a dialogue. I just wanted to share the story of the man, I suppose, because I can't seem to get him off of my mind. Because of recent laws changing around whether or not the homeless can beg on median strips in the cities here that has also put the homeless at the forefront of my thoughts. Talk to me. Tell me about your experiences and beliefs in regards to the homeless.

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About Me

Katrina Ray-Saulis is a writer living on the Maine coast. She has a BFA in Creative Writing from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Katrina lives with her wife, fellow writer and artist Trisha Ray-Saulis, in an apartment much smaller than their book collection. She thrives off of coffee and literature and uses sitcoms to quiet her overactive mind.